What Makes You Think You’re So Special?

What’s up JRE Library? You’re only two years old and already you think you’re something special, right?! But all libraries should feel special, should be students’ happy place, should feel owned by the entire learning community. What exactly makes our library so special? There is no denying that the JRE Library is a happy place. Students fill the library at 8 AM to hang out, visit with friends, play games, find books and talk books with the librarians and friends. Music is playing, the doors are wide open and students and staff are allowed to walk through the library…ALL DAY (more on that in another post!) At 8:10 we move students along to their classrooms and begin the day. But there are 1,000 little things that make up the unique JRE Library.

Shelly (my amazing library aide and thinking partner, commonly known here as “Library Shelly”) and I are very purposeful in everything we do in our library and wanted to communicate that clearly for others and for ourselves. We wanted to chart the course we were on and right the course if needed. At the end of the year we sat down and created a JRE Library Annual Report 2016 . When I was in grad school I was obsessed with Joyce Valenza’s Annual Report and immediately saw the value in sharing what was happening in the library with administrators and the wider learning community. I shared the report and ideas/goals for this year with our administrative team. I knew there was no point in pursuing these goals and ideas if our administrators didn’t share the vision. But, YAY for us, we are on an amazing, innovative campus that encourages us to think outside the box and develop what’s best for students and teachers (checkout @kisdjre for more about our campus!)

So, yeah….we think we’re pretty special, like ALL of our libraries. You’re doing amazing, innovative and special things for staff and students and you should share that with your learning community. Take a look at other annual reports here. Your library is special, let others know about it.